Fight Back
by hazelnut91
Summary: Life has mysterious ways of solving its problems...what if you get the chance to see where your choices lead you?Would you make the same mistakes?Would you let fate beat you down,or would you Fight Back?
1. Chapter 1

Arizona : I trusted you more than anything, more than anyone in my life and you decided to cut it off…

Callie : TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!

Arizona : You didn't lose anything.. I DID… I DID!

Callie slowly exhales ,a sudden realization dawning on her… "Apparently I lost you" was the only thing she could say, her wife was gone,her love was gone…she was once again, just a lost girl in a rapidly changing world. People left her, people lied to her and people died, no matter how good she was professionally, no matter how giving she was romantically…no matter what, she always ended up alone and broken.

Arizona: NO! YOU DON'T GET TO SAY THINGS LIKE THAT! You don't get to bail, you don't get to break another promise to me. You said you wouldn't leave me…you said you'd stay, NO MATTER WHAT!

Arizona's screams didn't matter to Callie anymore, as she slowly began to see her life flashing before her eyes. A strange voice found it's way out, retelling her past failed experiences: "I…I fell in live with dorky, awkward George ,I pursued him even though a blind man could see that he was in love with Izzie Stevens, I let him use me, I fabricated a perfect little bubble in which we were happy, but when he stupidly confessed that Izzie couldn't possibly be in love with me she's blonde and gorgeous" I instantly knew…I had chosen wrong. Burying myself in work I somehow managed to survive, I met Erica and we clicked…she was the perfect friend, she was there for me, and for the first time I felt that somebody had my back. But I was wrong, at the first bump in the road she went away…and I still miss her, I miss my friend. The most important thing she had taught me was that when the right person comes along, you're gonna know, no matter what silly games you're gonna play,no matter how long the chase lasts ,you're gonna know…and I did. When you, Arizona Robbins kissed me in that bathroom, I just knew I would love you until the day I die. The problem is that, I somehow believed that you'd think the same about me, that I'd be finally worthy of the happiness which always seems to slip from my grasp. So, the question is, why would you do that to me?"

Arizona: "DON'T! Just don't sit there and pretend that this is what you wanted all along,a…a life with me. You didn't! I was the one who just stuck around long enough. We weren't going to last anyway!"

Callie: "So this was just a field trip for you? We've just been playing house for the past 5 years?" she had to fight this time,she wouldn't let it go.

Arizona: "Oh,no no no. This was your dream,not mine. I never wanted this!"

Callie:" Sofia,you didn't want Sofia?"

Arizona:"No", she shouted.

Callie:"You didn't want this marriage?"

Arizona:"No!",she raised her voice a little louder

Callie: "You,you…didn't want me?"

Arizona: "NO! This isn't my life,this isn't who I am…I,I…"

Callie:" So,why did you come back from Africa,why did you play pretend for so long if this is such a hardship?"

Arizona: "I don't know!Leave me alone! I cheated on you…just,leave me alone!"

Callie: "So you were punishing me by sleeping with her!"

Arizona:" I…NO!"

Callie: "You are punishing me for a life we built together, you are punishing me for your choices, you are actually punishing me for being happy. Ultimately I think you are punishing me,us for taking away your independence…you have always been selfish,Arizona.

Arizona:"You had no right!"

Callie: " Have you ever thought how things would have been if I were the one in septic shock? Would you have let me die? Would you have robbed your daughter of her mother?"

Arizona: "I've nothing to say to you!

Callie:" When I first got into medical school, I found it awkward that all my colleagues got sick from dissections in our anatomy classes…it wasn't that they weren't good students, they just couldn't manage. But I could, dead bodies were just a shell to me, a beautiful shell protecting the most important thing we have…the pearl, our soul. So if chipping the shell would mean that I got your soul to grow old with, the surgery was a no brainer. I'm not going to apologize for saving your life, 'm not apologizing for giving Sofia her mother... 'm just done with the leg thing. It's your call now, you are the one who should decide if this life is worth fighting for. You cheated on me to feel alive, you cheated on me to destroy our happiness, you cheated to drive me away because you are scared out of your mind,but you are the love of my life,so if there's a chance I could get that back I am going to fight."

Arizona:" You can't,I don't love you anymore" the blonde struggled with her words.

Callie: "You've always been a bad liar, not to mention your deluded sense of duty,so I'm gonna make it easy to understand. I,Calliope Iphegenia Torres, want you and want this marriage,I want our family back. If you go to therapy,if you could get over yourself and start living again,if you'd talk to me,if you would let me see the real you,the new you,I would stay. I won't let life win this one over me,we've been through hell together,car crash,maniac shooter and we've survived. I won't let a skinny blonde steal my light again,I won't let fears ruin this relationship, and I won't be a victim anymore!"

Arizona:"I will never be the same…"

Callie:" Neither will i…"

Arizona:" WE will never be the same…"

Callie: "How could we?We're getting old,our daughter is growing,disasters seem to find us three times a year,our friends and family drop like flies…but we are still 's gotta mean something,everything happens for a reason"

Arizona: "I'm so sorry,Calliope. I need…I need for us to be ok,but I have to fix myself. You deserve so much more…"

Callie: "Let me be the judge of ,I've gotta go find Sofia,she must be scared out of her mind because of the storm." The brunette finished her speech and headed for the door leaving a stunned Arizona in the middle of the call room…her wife wasn't going away, wasn't leaving her even though she did the most despicable thing, that meant she knew something was off,that the lack of therapy was taking its toll on the paeds surgeon's mind and soul…things had to change.

The brunette left the room hoping her words affected in some way Arizona's thoughts,she knew something was happening with her,but being cheated on was the last thing she'd she pondered the night's events she violently collided with something…or someone.

Stranger:"Hey! Watch where you're going! These hands are worth millions" an irritated hoarse voice boomed.

Callie: " Erica…is that you?What the hell are you doing here?"

Erica:" I…I came to get my fiancé out of this hell hole,the storm was pretty big and I was worried. How have you been?"

Callie: "You kind of lost the right to ask me personal things when you suddenly fled Seattle because I wasn't a good enough lesbian for you,because I had the audacity to defend this extraordinary hospital"

Erica: "I was scared,ok? Mark was always there,Burke won the Harper Avery Prize…my life was heading downhill,and I had to escape. I wanted to apologize for the longest time but I found out you were finally happy,and that's what mattered the conscience could wait. Oh,there she is…dr. Torres, I'd like you to meet my fiancé, Dr. Lauren Boswell"

As soon as she heard those words leaving the blonde's mouth an hysterical laughter took control of her body,her face went red,tears were streaming down her face as her hands were firmly planted on her hips trying to keep her from falling over.

Erica: "Callie,are you ok?"

Callie: "Yes, everything is just peachy. I was just laughing at God's marvelous ways of dealing with people's shit"

Erica:" What do you mean?" she asked as she saw Lauren cautiously approaching.

Callie: "Oh,well…nothing much. It's just that I happen to know you fiancé very well, isn't that so,dr. Boswell? We have something in common it seems,we've both seen my wife naked in the past 24 hours. As I said,no big deal. Oh,and Lauren, I will fight for my marriage and my wife,and remember I break bones for a living. If Erica here wasn't your girlfriend, Avery would have his work cut out for him with putting together what would be left of your pretty face. Good day!" the ortho surgeon chirped in a false overjoyed voice leaving the two women was finally fighting back, badass Torres had resurfaced.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! :) Just wanted to say that i was surprised by the amount of people being interested in this story,if you have any sugestions feel free to let me know.**

**I don't own any of the grey's characters,i only own my sometimes crazy ideas.**

**Enjoy!**

**ps: I listened to Coldplay-The Scientist while writing the chapter,so it might be pleasant for you to do the same :)**

CHAPTER 2-

Left in the on call room, the blonde finally registered what the night had brought upon, or more likely what she had brought upon herself. The past couple of months had changed her very essence, the crash had broken her and she couldn't stitch herself, it wasn't as easy as a one hand surgical knot, because she frankly didn't understand her actions, she couldn't recognize her behavior, her words, her feelings anymore. Her wife had been there, Callie had always been there for her, even though she'd been hurt in the past, she had trusted Arizona with her very soul, and once again she got hurt in the process. That beautiful woman got hurt again as if she were collateral damage, and to make matters worse the person she cared for the most, was responsible.

Arizona was surprised by Callie's reaction, she imagined the hot blooded surgeon would bolt out of the room, maybe smacking her once or twice in the process, and God knows she deserved to be smacked. She'd never picture herself as a cheater, she never thought of cheating on Callie, even when they were separated, the brunette was always on her mind. But somehow the past 48 hours changed that, and Lauren was just there, she was just a symptom of a bigger problem, and it all had to do with faith, faith in what they built, faith in what the future had in store for them. She had to go to therapy as her thoughts were like a intricate puzzles, she could make out the pieces, but she couldn't put them together. Refusing therapy had been a bad judgment call, she had done it to show Callie that she was fine, that she didn't need any help, she was strong, she was an army kid for Christ sake, a badass paeds surgeon and an independent self supporting woman. What good would the therapist have done? Thinking back to those first days after the amputation, it was now painfully obvious that she indeed needed help, refusing it from strangers meant that she had sentenced Callie to months of verbal abuse, none of it deserved. Her wife had been a heroine in some ways, taking care of Sofia, being a doctor and a wife, not to mention a caretaker as Arizona chased off all the nurses with her grouchy yet entitled attitude.

The blonde sighed remembering the moment when Callie finally cracked, she was so spiteful in those days that she couldn't see that her wife was suffering just as much, if not more. It was before the crash victims' meeting, Callie had come home and found her lying in the bathroom in a pool of her own urine, she remembered screaming at Callie and after that being hoisted up in the shower, the cold water didn't sober her up, but her wife's heartbreaking sobs did.

"This is my life too now" made her foggy mind a little bit brighter, the woman she married was trying, trying but failing to get to her ,to make her react, to make her want to live again. She shuddered at the thought knowing that for a long time she had given up, that she wasn't a mother to Sofia, that she wasn't a wife and she didn't care about saving the tiny humans, her universe revolved around the crash, around her own estranged screams, around the bone chilling sounds of animals fighting over Lexie's carcass. When she first met Callie she was damaged, they both were, but somehow the time spent together mended their broken parts, the funny part was that the "callus" wasn't replaced by the real thing, and how could it? Their conflicting views on having kids, her departure to Africa, the conception of Sofia had weakened the already unsteady stitch, and they had found their selves broken once again. But being together made it all easy, her fears felt long gone ,her doubts stopped plaguing her mind and even the nightmares began to fade away…life was finally having a meaning, their marriage was just beginning and the future sounded oh so promising. And then the crash happened and it well…crashed everything she'd so carefully built.

Thankfully Callie didn't run away and now she received a second chance ,a chance to make it better, a chance to communicate her fears…a shot at finally having a happy family. Tomorrow she would start therapy, she needed answers as soon as possible…Callie deserved them too.

"Doctor Robbins, there's a 13 year old girl with a face and leg injury in Trauma room 1, doctor Torres asked me to come get you" a skinny looking intern suddenly burst in the room.

"Okay, thank you" she replied. "Time to face the music!" she slowly whispered to herself.

Hurrying towards the first floor, Arizona couldn't help but hearing her name being shouted, but having been called to an emergency topped any other obligation. As she entered the room she was shocked to see her wife's trauma gown being completely soaked in fresh blood,the girl was bleeding out,and fast.

"What do we have here?" she anxiously asked.

"Girl, 13,got ran over by a truck while riding her bike. She has a compound fracture of her right femur,dr, Torres is currently trying to stop the bleeding,but it seems that the bone fragments nicked both her femoral artery and vein. Dr. Shepherd in currently trying to reduce the brain swelling and has booked and OR because the pressure in increasing last,but not least,we are hearing some unusual heart sounds,and dr. Hahn said that she might have a traumatic ventricular aneurism." A very passionate dr. Yang briefed her.

"Dr. Hahn,here?Oh hell, can I do to help?" the paeds surgeon said as her mind started to prioritize the poor girl's wounds.

"Here,just hold this clamp" her wife responded. "I just have one more knot and the artery will be good as new. Yang,push another one of epi and for God's sake find out what's the hold up with the blood. I'm wearing have half of her volume." The brunette angrily ordered. "And I'm done!The vessels are good now, but I really have to repair the 's it going with you,Derek?"

"Good to know. She's stable for now, her cebrospinal fluid pressure hasn't increased but I'm taking no chances. We have to get her to the OR,NOW!And somebody page dr. Hahn,that aneurism has to be closely monitored." The neurosurgeon requested."She's gonna make it!"

"Okay, heard him,let's get ,are you ok?You look a little pale." Callie asked.

"Dr. Hahn?" was all that the blonde could say as familiar strips of pain clawed at her chest, it was ridiculous that her,the cheater,would be entitled to feel this way.

"Yeah ,haven't you heard?! She's dr. Slutty's fiancé…or was,the jury is still debating on that" a highly amused Callie chirped while exiting the room."Are you gonna scrub in,or are you gonna stand there all day?This kid needs the best doctors,I need you there too!" the ortho surgeon pleaded.

"You got me,Calliope,you got me"Arizona answered after a few seconds, the double entendre not being missed by the beautiful brunette,as a genuine smile found its way on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

To say Arizona was in hell is an understatement, her leg hurt, her head hurt from all the night's drama, the girl kept crashing and she was currently standing 2 feet from the infamous but brilliant Erica Hahn. The hospital talk never mattered to her until she and Callie got together ,but she could practically feel the entire gallery watching their every movement…and let me tell you, nobody gave a damn about the surgery, bets were made, jokes were cracked and fingers were pointed, not to mention the hungry stares dr. Lauren Boswell kept giving her. This was her own personal hell and she had to endure another grueling 3 hours of it. She felt miserable about her actions, and finding out that Lauren had a fiancé made things worse, with one stupid mistake she managed to screw over 2 relationships and 4 people, apparently her "good man in a storm" quality had deserted her when she needed it the most.

"I'm done here, the aneurysm has been repaired and her cardiovascular system is stable,for now" a very serious dr. Hahn interrupted the silence." And given the fact that we seem to have a very eager audience today,I would like to have a word with you, dr. Robbins, in private." The blonde continued.

"I'm not leaving the girl until the surgery is done, I don't want to offend any of the other attendings currently working on her, but she's my direct responsibility" Arizona plainly answered ignoring the blank look Erica was giving her, and also failing to see the worried glances Callie was throwing her way.

"Fair enough, dr, Robbins. But I expect you to find me as soon as possible, don't make me hunt you down!" the woman smiled menacingly. "Have a good day dr. Torres, dr Sheperd!"

As soon as the cardiothoracic surgeon left the three remaining doctors resumed their actions, neither of them willing to bring up the pressing subject. Derek was focusing on stopping the brain bleeding, as he had given up a long time ago the need to understand women and their actions, Callie was currently fixating the screws on the poor girl's femur and she had no intention of pressuring Arizona into a discussion after the exhausting events of the night, besides she was a grown woman and all the cards were on the table, Arizona was the one who needed to make a decision; and last but not least, the paeds surgeon was focused on the girl's vitals and making up various scenarios regarding her pending talk with Callie's ex.

Thankfully the surgery was successful and the teenager survived without having to deal with sequelae neither from her leg injuries, nor from her brain ones. Today had been rough, but saving the girl's life made them realize that there were more important things in life, that people suffered and died daily ,and that life was too short to not be lived to its fullest. Having been left alone, as Callie rushed to inform the patient's parent of the miraculous success of the surgery, Arizona knew it was time to keep her promise and seek out dr. Hahn. Paging her to the nearest on call roomed seemed the best idea, a cafeteria conversation was a thing she didn't necessarily want because it was more than likely that things were going to escalate, and fast.

"Wow, you actually had the decency to keep your word" a raspy voice startled Arizona.

"I'm sorry !I'm just so deeply sorry!" she simply responded.

"For what exactly? For cheating on your wife? Or for the fact that she found out?"

"You have no right to speak to me that way! It's none of your business what happens between me and my wife, I'm just apologizing for ruining your engagement" she quietly said.

"Listen to me, perky Blondie! I didn't asked to speak with you because you slept with my fiancé, who by the way has decided to stay here and ruin your already shaky marriage. I wanted to give you a wake up call because you were apparently stupid enough to cheat on Callie, after all the things that happened to her. I might not be the best example here, but I walked away from her because I knew I would pressure her into something she wasn't ready for and she would end up hating me. I walked away for her, not from her knowing she had Mark to lean on, you on the other hand just did what suited your needs without giving a rat's ass about her feelings ,or about your daughter for that matter"

"You…you love her. Nobody cares that much for a just friend title" Arizona managed to respond, Erica's whipping words cutting deep into her soul.

"Yes, I do. I'm actually still in love with her. I didn't expect to get a second chance after hearing you guys got married, but fate has different plans it seems"

"What the hell are you talking about? We're still married and she wouldn't leave me" Arizona shouted.

"No, she wouldn't. But it seems that you would. Don't think I didn't notice the way Lauren was looking at you today, it wasn't just a fling, Arizona, there had to be some feelings involved for you to throw away a 5 year relationship. So that's why congratulations are in order because I just accepted the Cardio Head of Department offer. If Lauren is staying here for you, I'm doing the same for Calliope. It's gonna be a piece of cake" the tall blonde smirked starting to leave the room. "I just hope you make the right call this time, for her, for her happiness, she deserves better"

Hearing the last words Arizona broke down, violent sobs racking her small frame as the same three words were obsessively whispered "she deserves better",she deserves better". Deciding she needed some privacy she locked the door and spread herself on a bunk bed ,a splitting headache tormenting her very soul.

"Kid ,you really need to take it easy, you're a doctor for Pete's Sake" a strange yet familiar voice broke the silence. "I might be just a soldier, but I do know when it's time to stop" the voice continued.

"TIM?!" a shocked Arizona screamed before feeling a nauseating vertigo taking over her, the last thing she saw before the dark engulfed her, was the smiling dimpled face of her brother, her very dead brother…she was going insane.

The blonde was afraid to move, having been woken up approximately 5 minutes ago by the beeping pager, she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. The headache was gone, the nausea was gone, but she stood there paralyzed praying that the images engraved in her memory had been part of a dream, a very sick dream…but she wasn't going to be that lucky, was she?

"Kid, I know you're not sleeping. You're breathing has changed and I can see your face scrunching from all of the over thinking " Tim happily said, a chuckle escaping his mouth." I told you to take it easy, but you didn't listen…as always I might add."

"You…you are dead. You died 7 years ago, you are not real! Oh my god ,I'm going crazy, I'm the next Izzy fucking Stevens of this hospital, and OH GOD, Callie is going to end up like Karev, bitter and grouchy and…scarred. And Sophia will end up being a parent hating drug addict. This can't be happening, you are NOT real!" She desperately shouted.

"I might or might not be real, Arizona. But that's not the important part here,I said I'd always have your back, that I'd always protect and help you , and it seems that time has come." Tim replied.

"I'm just going to ignore him, it's gonna be fine, Arizona" she tried to calm herself down. "I will count to ten, he will disappear and you will go get a freakin' MRI or a triple dose of Xanax, and it will all be okay" she continued closing her eyes, as if Tim would magically vanish.

"That or you could listen to me, kid. I'm here for a limited amount of time and you really need all the help you can get right about not. You see, I'm kind of a guardian angel and you seem to have arrived at a crossroad, an impasse . Your next call, your next decision will make it or break it for you, you'll choose your future, happy or unhappy, and I'm here to make sure that you think all the things through."

"How? I mean, how are you going to do that? She sighed ."I'm a fucking lunatic, that's what I am" she grumbled to herself.

"I'm going to show you your future, the way I see it you have several options, very different ones and I'm not confident you can choose on your own ,so that's where I come in".

"Oh, come on Tim, is this a freakin' joke? I'm like Scrooge from "A Christmas Carol"? Damn animated movies, they should write these side effects with RED BOLDED 14 LETTERS:WARNING,WATCHING THIS MOVIE LEADS TO DEAD BROTHER HALLUCINATIONS" Arizona squealed hysterically.

"Haha, you were always the funny one, but as I said, we are running out of time. Ready for scenario number one?" he excitedly asked placing a hand on Arizona.

"As ready as I'll ever be" Arizona answered before feeling an electric shock surging through her right arm where her brother had touched her, but that sudden pain faded quickly as the now familiar nauseating vertigo reappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After talking with the girl's parents Callie dragged her tired feet to the cafeteria in search of a well deserved cup of coffee, the day had been crazy and she just about wanted to crawl in a dark corner and die of exhaustion. She was running on fumes, the only thing keeping her awake was the surge of adrenaline caused by the success of the surgery, that poor kid made it trough even though her chances were next to none and that gave her hope…maybe, just maybe her marriage could recover miraculously too.

"Can I interest you in a cup of coffee?" a voice pulled her from her daydreaming.

"Oh, God, yes. I'm practically a zombie" Callie replied to a now smiling Erica Hahn.

"So, I reckon the kid made it?"

"Yes, and all thanks to you actually. That aneurysm was a death sentence on its own, barring the leg and head injuries" Callie responded sipping slowly the hot dark liquid.

"We need to talk" Erica's voice suddenly dropped an octave

"About?" the ortho surgeon innocently asked.

"About your wife…"

"I'm not discussing my private life with you and I hope, for your own good, that is, that you won't try to do the same with Arizona. She's an army brat and she won't hesitate to punch you"

"Well, I'm sorry to let you down, but she acted pretty cowardly during our little chat"

"You…you talked? Wait, did she come after you?"

"Yes, and I was surprised as well to see her take some responsibility"

"Arizona is a great person…"Callie began.

"Arizona cheated on you, with a stranger I might add" Erica fired back. "After 5 years and a daughter together she threw it all away, just think about it .I'm not here to rub salt on your wounds ,I'm not here to gloat, I'm here to tell you that I'm concerned for you, you don't deserve this kind of treatment"

"What about your engagement? How can you worry about me, when you got screwed over as well?" a teary eyed Callie whispered.

"It's quite easy….Lauren was a compromise for me, she's always been second best...i care for her,but I've never been in love with her. But never mind that, I just…I'm here to stay, Cal, I've just accepted the Head of Cardio job offer. God knows Yang is going to try to run me off, but I'm here for you"

"I…I don't know what to say, Erica"

"Just let me in, let us be friends again…that's all I'm asking" the cardio surgeon said giving Callie a toothy smile.

"Okay…okay" the brunette finally cracked before being surprised by a warm hand pulling her into a hug.

"You'll be fine, Callie. We'll be fine" Erica whispered to a sobbing Callie, ignoring the rest of the doctors who were shamelessly staring at them.

Arizona woke up to the smooth feeling of Egyptian cotton sheets tickling her face, she lazily stretched and laughed at the memory of the day before ,as she had dreamed about her brother wanting to help her. Opening her eyes she quickly realized that she didn't recognize the bed or the room she was currently in, getting up she pulled the curtain and a yelp of surprise filled the room, a great view of Central Park was unfolding before her eyes…

"Great view, isn't it? I've always considered you and over achiever, kid" the voice of her brother scared her.

"I…what the flying fuck is going on here?" the blonde shouted.

"Oh, you finally learnt to cuss, good for you! I totally wasn't buying the innocent persona " her brother chuckled.

"Tim, answer me!" she all but shouted.

"Come here" he motioned her towards the fireplace. "What do you see?"

Arizona looked intently at the array of prizes lined up on the shelf gasping loudly as her eyes settled on a shiny chrome scalpel which had her name engraved on it:

"Avery…Harper Avery. I won the freakin' Harper Avery ?Oh my god?!" the blonde proceeded to bounce around the room, barely managing to keep her balance. "I've got to tell Callie, and Teddy and Karev…this is awesome, I'm awesome. Where is everybody ?And why am I in New York?" she excitedly rambled.

"Kid, this is…hard to explain. 10 years have passed since the night you and Callie had that conversation .And things are a little different…okay ,a lot different. But give it a shot, ok?"

"Arizonaaaaa, I'm hoooooome. And I brought your favorite wine" a female voice interrupted their conversation.

"Tim…is that Teddy? What the hell?!" the blonde shouted without registering her brother's words.

"Oh, and I brought doughnuts too. I know this is going to be a hard day for you and I know you're gonna say you are fine, but…you aren't" the voice continued to ramble.

Arizona carefully followed the noises, she had to talk to Teddy, this was utter madness and it was driving her insane,

"Um, hi Teds"

"Wow, she's pretty" Tim chirped.

"Shut up!" Arizona quickly replied.

"Why should I shut up?" a confused Teddy asked. She didn't look different, Arizona thought, the 10 years did affect her in some way ,but the woman was still beautiful as the spark in her green eyes still shone brightly.

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you" she tried to cover her mistake. "It's just my mind, it's cramped with thoughts so…shut up, mind" she lamely tried.

"I know, I know it's hard. Even though you won't admit it…it still hurts to think about it."

"About what?" Arizona was genuinely interested.

"Sofia's birthday" Teddy began to talk,her voice full of concern.

"It's today? Oh my god! Why aren't we in Seattle?! Where's Callie? Oh my god, we gotta buy her that pony I saw a few weeks back, she'll love it" Arizona interrupted ignoring her brother who proceeded to slap himself on the forehead in exasperation.

"Erm…Arizona, Sofia is turning 13 this year,I don't think she'll actually enjoy your gift. Are you ok? You seem…a little off. I know you've been having these memory blackouts,but this is rather concerning. We should get you to the hospital" A frowning Teddy responded.

"Huh?What are you talking about?Sofia's turning 3, not 13. And where the hell is Callie?" a confused Arizona insisted.

"Honey, you guys separated years ago…"

"WHAT? NO! That can't be…Callie left me?"

"She eventually did…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she angrily demanded an answer.

"Well, after your…_slip up_ with Lauren, you decided to take some time off to sort things out. One week turned into one month, one month turned into a full year and after that you left for Malawi again. Callie tried to support your decision, but you shut her off. And then one day she came to me with your divorce papers in hand begging me to tell her what to do, she was a mess, Arizona, she still loved you but she couldn't go on like that. I remember calling you and telling you to come back but you chose to stay there, you said it was for the best…I didn't blame you ,you let her go because you couldn't make her happy anymore and you did what made you happy as well, and that got you the Harper Avery." Teddy smiled as she finished talking. "After that you traveled the world for some years and worked in different 3rd world countries, we were always so proud of you".

Arizona was stunned by the words she had just heard, the only thing registering in her mind was that she left Callie alone once again. Yes, she thought about needing time to figure things out, but she didn't intend to leave for good…did she?

"I…I need to see them" she slowly whispered before choking back the unshed tears.

"I don't know if that's a good idea…it's been years and I,I think you'll get hurt if you go there" Teddy tried.

"I don't care…I need them" the blonde replied, her words having a sense of finality.

Tim was watching from afar the two women talk and his heart was breaking seeing that his sister was suffering so much, She had always been a competitor, her professional life was the most important thing for her, but now it seems that things had taken a different turn, the Arizona he knew was gone, the woman standing before him didn't give a damn about _prizes_ if that meant she didn't have the people she loved near. It wasn't quite time to end this first _illusion, _Arizona had to experience the whole thing before proceeding to option number two.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Arizona was studying herself in the mirror, the truth of the present weighing heavily on her shoulders, she was in fact 10 years older, living in New York, lonely and having no clue whatsoever of what she'd discover after arriving to Seattle. Her head was spinning from all the new information that had been thrown her way, but even though the situation was strange, she couldn't deny the fact that she related to _her _choices. She understood the need for space from Callie, she understood the need to be the best pediatric surgeon out there, she understood the need for the adrenaline surge after successfully saving a tiny human's life…and it scared her like hell. What if she was meant to become this person? A person who chooses career over family over and over again?! Laughing bitterly she realized that it was kind of insane to repeat the same mistake, this person couldn't be happy with the way things were momentarily, this person couldn't hide behind trophies forever, there were things she needed to face, responsibilities to be assumed and most importantly…people to see.

"Ready, kid?" Tim's voice interrupted her ponderings.

"Yeah…last time you asked me that I really had a ball with everything" she sarcastically answered.

"Arizona, are you talking to yourself?" a head popped in the room. "That's not healthy and if you're not sure about this we could always cancel. It's not like they are expecting you to come or anything" the blonde said quickly realizing her slip up.

"What do you mean?"

"I…I'm just saying you haven't seen them in a long time and…I usually go there by myself. Callie stopped hoping you'd make time to come a long time ago…" Teddy said lowering her head on the ground.

" Oh…I see. But how are you still invited?"

"Arizona, this memory thing is really starting to frighten me…it's never been this bad…"

"Teddy, just answer!"

"Callie made me the godmother of…"

"What ?Why ?What happened to Yang?" Arizona eagerly interrupted failing to see the pained expression her brother was wearing.

"Nothing…she's fine. She made me Tim and Ariadna's, Ari's, godmother. Don't you remember?" the cardio surgeon said placing a hand on Arizona's forehead. "You're burning up…we should really get you to bed ,you're in no condition to travel"

"So…she remarried" the blonde came to a daunting conclusion.

"No, she actually didn't…after you guys separated she vowed she wouldn't marry again, that it wasn't for her given the fact that both of her marriages ended up in infidelity." Teddy countered guiding Arizona to her bedroom.

"STOP! I'm not going to bed!" the blonde frantically shouted. "We are going to buy Soph a gift and then we're going to Seattle. I may not be in my best shape to hear all the details…but I'll give it my best shot. Okay ?I need this to happen for me, Teds! I can't let this go…" she cried.

"Shhh…I understand. Don't cry! Everything will be alright! "the other woman soother rocking Arizona back and forth, meanwhile Tim was staring intently at Arizona, his finger pointed to his watch. Time was running out for both of them, and they had to move... fast!"

After booking the flight tickets to Seattle, the women went to the nearest mall to buy Sophia Sloan Robbin Torres a gift. Things had evolved greatly in 10 years, but Arizona's problem wasn't that she couldn't keep up with the changes,the thing is that she knew nothing about her…Sofia ,what the teenager wanted, what Callie allowed... she was stuck. Luckily Teddy was a bit more coordinated, and after choosing a high-tech transparent Smartphone , that miraculously transformed itself into a watch when put on stand by , the two, or rather two women and one ghost were ready to go. While shopping they kept the conversation light, Teddy discussion briefly her now strong going 5 year relationship with none other than Owen Hunt. It seems that the night of the storm meant the end for him and Christina Yang, children were a big no-no for the cardio resident and a desperate burning wish for the trauma surgeon. That being said,after the fight he immediately departed for a 5 year Afghanistan tour and upon return they rekindled their weren't perfect, Owen's past choices still weighing heavily on him,but Teddy was finally happy and that's all that mattered.

"And I can't believe I was stupid enough to let the person I love the most go…" those were the words that echoed through Arizona's head as they boarded their flight.

"Yeah…I can't believe it either" was the only response she could muster up, given the fact that those words were primary intended for herself.

The flight had been uneventful, the only thing interrupting Arizona's planning mode was the huffing and puffing of her brother ,who clearly didn't enjoy being sat on by other passengers. It was quite funny, a ghost being uncomfortable because real people didn't see him and consequently sat in their seats…ON him. That resulted in him standing on his feet the whole time in the lobby, but the 6 hour flight, now only taking 3(God bless technology!) flew by rapidly, the hour of the reunion getting closer and closer…and her fears getting bigger and bigger.

After renting car the two women and a now pissed off Tim, began their journey to the outskirts of Seattle where, as Arizona found out, Callie had bought a house and some land right next to Derek and Meredith's estate. A few minutes before arriving, the paeds surgeon decided it was time to ask the question that had been plaguing her mind ever since she had found about Callie's new additions to the family:

"So…Callie has kids" she began.

"Yes, Tim and Ari are now almost 7" Teddy answered fully knowing the extent of Arizona's curiosity.

"And the father?"

"They used a donor…she didn't expect both of the eggs to take and when they did she was ecstatic. And immediately the next day she bought this house" Teddy answered parking the car and getting out.

"They?" a shocked Arizona noticed as her brother protectively put his hand around her shoulder,almost as if he was bracing her for the pending news.

"Yes…Callie and her partner" the other woman replied ringing the doorbell.

"And who…" the blonde tried before hearing Teddy exclaiming excitedly.

"Surprise, Ericaaaa! WE CAME! Where's Sofia?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys,thank you a lot for the reviews :) I'm glad you're enjoying my little story.**

**ps: I do not own any of the Grey's characters, please don't sue me, i'm broke and still in medschool.**

Chapter 6

_"Surprise, Ericaaaa! WE CAME! Where's Sofia?"_

Arizona was currently flabbergasted by the turn of events, she didn't get her answer from Teddy, no, she had to experience first hand the shock of seeing a casual dressed Erica Hahn beaming from the doorstep of Callie's house…more likely their house. _Erica fucking Hahn was the one Callie chose to spend her life with? It was freakin' unbelievable_, she thought as her presence was suddenly noticed by the older woman.

"Oh… Arizona Robbins. We weren't expecting you…I mean I know you're pretty busy with your Harper Avery tour, we thought you were still in Africa" a reticent woman began to speak, as it was clear that Arizona's presence made her feel rather uncomfortable.

"But don't stand there, come in…Sophia's in the kitchen and…" she was interrupted by ,what Arizona thought to be, the most beautiful voice in the world:

"Honey ,is that the girl scout ?I swear to God I'm not buying cookies from her again…i gained like 5 pounds from those delicious peanut butter ones" Callie finished her babbling failing to notice the other women in the lobby, other rather… shocked women. The thing is that, given the fact that they weren't quite expecting guests, Callie Torres was sporting the world's smallest shorts known by man kind, her long caramel legs in full view. But that wasn't the most embarrassing thing, as the woman, currently wearing only a black lacey bra, was fumbling with stubborn looking t-shirt.

Her attention was suddenly caught by a nervous cough and when she finally raised her eyes, a pair of storm sky ones bore into her soul. It was the same pair she kept dreaming of all these years, a pair she got lost into countless times, she knew them very well: when Arizona was happy they had a baby blue nuance, when she was sad they became grey, almost as if the color was somehow washed away by the bad things their beautiful owner was experiencing and last, but not least, the current look, the dark blue, almost marine color which flooded Callie's mind with memories of passionate nights of love…Arizona wanted her ,wanted her badly and her eyes betrayed that almost animalistic passion.

Long gone was the absent woman who walked away from Sophia and her, long gone was the woman who permanently wore a blank bland lifeless look, at the moment the spark was there... the cause of the sudden ignite remained thus a mystery. Unable to form words, the brunette spun on her heels, ignoring Erica's worried calls, and rapidly headed to her bedroom, "_I'm a complete idiot…I haven't seen her in 9 years and I still act like a love struck teenager. What the hell is wrong with me?!"_ a now shaking Calliope berated herself while hugging a fluffy pillow. Inhaling slowly the scent of the covers she calmed herself down, "_I can do this…can't i?"_

_Meanwhile in the kitchen_

After Callie's sudden departure, Erica lead both Arizona, who was currently in a state of shock, and Teddy (need I mention the presence of one thoughtful looking Tim? guess not) towards the kitchen. Slowly approaching the room, Arizona's heart began to speed up once again, after seeing a ravishing Callie only a few moments before she was going to see her daughter… her now 13 year old daughter. She didn't know if she could handle this masquerade anymore ,as her head was screaming for her to stop this abuse, abuse who was primarily focused on her heart, a tightening in her chest signaling a pending panic attack. But she had to keep it together, she thought ,as she heard Erica telling them to go in without her, because she had to check on Callie.

Upon entering the kitchen she was surprised to see a teenage replica of her…Calliope. The girl had inherited her mother's best qualities, her athletic body, her beautiful long black her, but most importantly those chocolate brown eyes that spoke volumes and shone brightly every time a powerful feeling took over their owner's spirit. The girl was currently smiling and making funny faces at the twins, as it was evident that she took the _bigger sister job _seriously. Arizona felt Teddy leave her side and consequently her brother's arm wrapping protectively around her shoulders_…"guess I'm in for another treat" _she bitterly thought as she took in the view of Teddy gently embracing the birthday girl.

"Happy Birthday, Soph " an overly excited Teddy beamed. "We brought you a present" she continued, accentuating the "WE" part.

"We?" a crystalline voice asked, Sophia's head slowly rising from Teddy's chest.

"Yes. I brought… Arizona with me…she" the woman tried to explain.

"Hey…I think I know who you are" the teenager responded, a pondering look appearing on her face.

"You do?" a hopeful Arizona asked, noticing the slight wince her brother experienced at the girl's choice of words.

"Yes. My mom has a picture of you in her nightstand. She thinks we don't know she has it, but I caught her staring at it a couple of times. And there's the picture of you, daddy and her on the fireplace. You're her old friend from her residency years, aren't you?" the girl rambled without registering the heartbroken look on Arizona's face…_she was Callie's friend_, _just an old friend_…_her OWN daughter didn't know who she was._

"She told me stories about you and daddy when I was little, you guys were like superheroes to me. I didn't think I'd get to meet you. I'm Sophia Sloan Torres R…"

"Robbin, yes…I remember" Arizona whispered.

"You do? I love that name. Mom told me they chose it for me because she had a very special person in her life at that time, her own hero…and I think it fits, Robin was Batman's sidekick, wasn't he?" the bubbly teenager continued to speak without sensing effect of her words on Arizona's mood.

"Yes…I do actually. The person you are speaking of was…great, she loved your mom and even though she didn't admit it,your dad too. You guys were like a family" the blonde tried to hold back her tears,as Tim lowered her on a kitchen chair, her legs giving in from the sheer pressure of Sophia's words.

"Did you know her?" Sophia excitedly asked.

"I…" Arizona tried,Teddy's eyes intently looking at her,"I did…" she finally managed to respond.

"Sophia, let's go unwrap your presents. Arizona is a little tired from the flight and I bet she'll like to speak to your mom" Erica's voice interrupted their conversation.

"Yes, mother…that's a great idea" the girl responded placing a kiss on Erica's cheek. "I can't wait, Teddy said something about a new phone".

Arizona's head spun after hearing Sophia's last words, Erica Hahn being called mother,right in front of her, by her own.. was all too much. She scrambled from the chair, tears streaming down her face determined to find Callie,she could run,but she certainly couldn't hide from her…she had a lot of questions to ask,and time was running out for both them.

"Go get her,kid" Tim's shaky voice echoed in her ears.

_Callie and Erica's conversation_

When she entered their bedroom, Erica knew something was completely off with her partner, she hadn't seen her so broken, so fragile in years…and the reason for those dark moments was currently residing in their home. She didn't know what to say so she did the most sensible thing she could think of, she wrapped her arms tightly around the brunette, spooning her from behind. Erica didn't completely understand what Callie was experiencing, but she knew she had to be there for her, she knew that Callie needed a shoulder to cry on, a person to rely on. That was what kept their relationship strong all these years, they built everything on trust and communication, and even if their love wasn't what you'd consider a great passion, they made it work.

"Shh…cry it out, honey. It's alright" she soothed.

"I…*hiccup* I don't know why I'm like this * hiccup* It's been years"

"It's okay, Callie. You got hurt and you didn't get closure, that's all." The blonde tried to explain mostly to herself ,as the prospect of Callie still having feeling for her ex-wife was absolutely preposterous, insane, impossible…wasn't it?! she huffed internally.

"Yeah…that must be it" Callie responded whipping away her tears, afraid to even think things through… she was feeling things she didn't know even existed anymore. Love ,hate ,disappointment, guilt, anger… her Arizona _died_ in the crash and now,after 10 years she suddenly came back, her spirit was suddenly very much alive and kicking. Life was certainly not fair…

" I have to go…Teddy brought Sophia a present and I have to take care of the twins too. You should clean yourself up and try to talk it out with Arizona, You're a badass, Torres…you're my badass ,and that paeds blondie can go screw herself, she didn't appreciate what she had, her loss is my gain, and even though that sounds awfully selfish of me, I shamelessly thank God every day for her mistake" Erica rapidly said placing a chaste kiss on Callie's lips, before getting up and leaving the room.

"I'm so…so screwed" Callie slowly whispered, the only thing registering in her mind being the full of passion look on Arizona's face from a few minutes before.


	7. Chapter 7

**hey guys :) this is the new chapter,hope you enjoy it!**

**ps: the song used is Andrew Belle- Make it without you :)**

CHAPTER 7

Arizona was walking upstairs trying to find answers to all the questions that were currently making her mind spin ,she tried the first door on the left and discovered the twins' bedroom, a light blue color painted on the walls, the same as the one she had convinced Callie to use all those years ago for their apartment, but Callie hated pastel, didn't she? Smiling to herself, she closed the door and heard the soft tunes of a vaguely familiar song, she couldn't put her finger on it, but rhythm reminded her of the woman she loved, though she had never truly listened to the lyrics before:

_"This is the starting of my greatest fear  
I'm all packed up, getting out of here  
But then you call and tell me not to go  
That I'm the one who put the rock n toll  
In your life"_

Taking slow steps towards the sounds, she whipped her eyes off and carefully steadied her breath, she had to look somewhat presentable, she didn't want Callie to see the giant wreck she had become. Pushing the door open she was hit with another wave of meaningful words, "_the damn Universe is having a laugh at us"_ _,_she bitterly thought as she saw the brunette curled up in bed with her back at her, sobbing lightly

_"Oh I'll  
Make it without you  
Make it without you  
Though my body's laying here  
It's my mouth that must be lying now…"_

As the words continued to torment her soul, she decided it was time to act, the "now or never" cliché had never been more suited for a situation before. The blonde silently got on the bed and placed her body as close as she could to Callie's , without touching her, the woman's sobs suddenly coming to a stop.

Callie Torres was listening to, what she reckoned to be, the saddest song in this entire Universe, before she felt the much dreaded presence in her bedroom. She didn't know how to act ,what to say, so her self preservation instinct told her to stay still, maybe Arizona would change her mind, maybe this was just a beautifully painful dream, maybe she could "Make it without you…" after all.

But the presence didn't go away ,No ,she got impossibly close ,her hot breath tickling the back of her neck making her take in a sharp breath, the pain she had been experiencing had vanished ,a warm feeling spreading throughout her entire body. She was suddenly awake, suddenly alive and she had lost hope a long time ago that she'd be feeling like this again. Ever since that kiss at Joe's, ever since she saw that dimpled smile and locked eyes with those impossibly blue orbs, Callie had somehow connected with Arizona, they were in tune with each other, and it was visceral…even after 10 years, she melted.

"Hey, beautiful girl" Arizona spoke first. "What's with the Sad FM?"

"I don't know…but they kinda nailed it"

_"This is the starting of my fall from grace  
My self esteem, oh it's seen better days  
But you know I'll never let this go to waste  
I'll keep this memory on the map I trace  
Back to home"_

"That they did…" the blonde acknowledged stalling the conversation, she was hurt, but she didn't want to fight. She had made choices throughout the years and this was the result, this _relationship_, but what she wanted was to understand Callie's actions, but most importantly to understand herself in the end.

"Congratulations for the Award, you deserved it" Callie's voice broke the silence.

"Yeah…I don't know what I Actually did to deserve it" Arizona sincerely answered as she had no memory whatsoever of her surgical feats that led to the recognition of _her_ efforts.

"Yes you do" the brunette growled clearly annoyed.

"Callie…" she tried.

"No. You don't get to come here and tone things down. You won a Harper Avery for God's sake, it's a huge deal, Arizona. You worked your ass off, you saved a lot of kids and finally got the recognition. I am so proud of you!"

Callie rambled, not being able to see Arizona's surprised expression.

"You've changed" that's all she could muster up.

"What?" a confused brunette finally turned around, their faces only 5 inches apart, but neither of them attempting to move, this familiar positioning bringing back dear memories.

"I said that you've changed. I was expecting a lecture about…me walking away and sacrificing family. I actually wanted to hear you say those things, because call me crazy, I don't want that award if that means I can't have…"

"Stop…Arizona, just stop! I can't do this" Callie begged, her ex-wife's words cutting deep into her soul.

"Just…hear me out. I don't want anything from you, just let me explain. These past 24 hours, and believe me you'd check me into the pshych ward if I told you all of the things I happened to experience in this short amount of time, have shown me that I made a mistake, for myself, that is."

"What are you saying?"

"Calliope, are you happy?" Arizona asked noticing the other woman flinching after hearing her choice of words.

"I…yes, I am happy"

"Do you love Erica?" Arizona pressed on.

"Yes, I do…she's a great woman, she is great with Sophia and the twins."

"Why does Sophia call her mother?" the blonde suddenly remembered the disturbing scene which had taken place in the kitchen only a few minutes prior to their conversation.

"Arizona, you have to understand…"

"And why doesn't she know who I am? She just called me your friend from your residency years after…hold on a minute" the blonde stretched her body and opened the nightstand drawer pulling out a worn out photo of her and Callie. "after telling me she saw you looking at this" she said as she placed the photo on Callie's chest. "Care to explain?"

Too stunned to speak ,Callie abruptly grabbed Arizona's collar and placed a fiery kiss on her lips, before engulfing the shocked blonde in a bone crushing hug.

"You listen to me, Arizona Robbins! You were…are the love of my life, when you left I waited for you, for years, but I had to move on , I had to give up that part of my life because Sophia deserved happiness, I deserved happiness. She was 3 when you left and Erica reentered my life, at first she was my best friend, helped me with Soph and held me on those dark nights when I woke up screaming your name,YOUR NAME... and eventually, after some time, we both decided to be day, when Soph was about 5, she started to call her mother…she cried from happiness, Arizona, Erica cried. What was I supposed to say? Stop calling her that? Your real mother left for Africa and dumped us and didn't give a shit?! It wasn't fair to either of us!" Callie screamed, tears streaming down her face.

"So I decided nature to take its course, I never lied to Sophia, you were always present in my stories,as was Mark, so she made that assumption…"

"I know but…" Arizona tried.

"It hurts? I know…just imagine how I felt when you cheated on me then proceeded to leave both Sophia and me. Imagine how I felt when I had to beg Teddy to give me information about you, how I felt when I had to give Teddy the divorce papers because you were nowhere to be found. Just…imagine that pain and then you can talk about yours"

"I am so sorry, Calliope…so deeply sorry, but maybe it was for the best" Arizona said, her head starting to pound, a familiar vertigo feeling making its appearance.

"For the best? Me believing for years I wasn't good enough to make you stay ?That our daughter meant nothing to you? Ha…that's the sickest joke I've ever heard!" Callie spat furiously.

"Just think of it this way…you god rid of the pain, both of you…and now you can be happy, you can_ make it without me_" Arizona whispered, her world blacking out as she felt her brother's arm around her shoulders. The last thing she saw was the beautiful tear stained face of the woman she loved…

_"Oh I'll  
Make it without you  
In my life  
Oh I'll make it without you  
Though my body's laying here  
It's my mouth that must be lying now  
It's my mouth that must be lying now"_

_Chapter 8- Preview_

Arizona woke up yet again feeling confused as her head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. She haphazardly trashed around the bed attempting to get up as quickly as possible. Finding a mirror, she closely watched her face exhaling softly at the sight…she was her younger self again, barring the fact that she was currently sporting a rather short haircut that made her hair more curly…"_hm…must of forgot I got it cut" _she thought to herself as she went into the bathroom. Hearing the shower on a mischievous idea popped into her head, she'd bet Callie would love the morning _wake up call…_but as she was undressing herself, a vaguely familiar voice startled her.

"Honey, as much as I'd love you here with me, we've got a plane to catch"

"LAUREN?!" Arizona screamed bolting out of the bathroom finding a highly amused Tim perched on her bed.

"Ready for round two, kid?" he smiled rather pleased with himself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys :) Thank you for the messages and reviews :P**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 8

Arizona woke up yet again feeling confused as her head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. She haphazardly trashed around the bed attempting to get up as quickly as possible. Finding a mirror, she closely watched her face exhaling softly at the sight…she was her younger self again, barring the fact that she was currently sporting a rather short haircut that made her hair more curly…"_hm…must of forgot I got it cut" _she thought to herself as she went into the bathroom. Hearing the shower on a mischievous idea popped into her head, she'd bet Callie would love the morning _wake up call…_but as she was undressing herself, a vaguely familiar voice startled her.

"Honey, as much as I'd love you here with me, we've got a plane to catch"

"LAUREN ?!" Arizona screamed bolting out of the bathroom finding a highly amused Tim perched on her bed.

"Ready for round two, kid?" he smiled rather pleased with himself.

"What the hell, Tim? What the actual fuck is Lauren doing here?" the blonde nervously paced around the room, "Callie is going to kill me…on second thoughts she's probably going to kill her first and then kill me with her body !I'm fucked…I cheated and then brought her to our apartment! What the hell was I thinking" Arizona rambled incoherently.

"Relax, kid. Callie is not here…" he tried.

"Relax?! You relax! Oh wait…YOU'RE DEAD, YOU'RE TOTALLY RELAXED! And cut the crap with the _kid _ thing, we aren't 12 anymore"

"AWWW, you're so cute when you get worked up like that, I totally dig your crazy eye and red neck thing you're sporting momentarily" her brother continued to tease her.

"That's it…I'm going to revive you only for the pleasure of killing you , or I can start calling you Chubby Timmy…"

"You wouldn't dare…" the man choked.

"Oh, I so would…I've been through hell these past couple of days ,if they can be called "days", psychotic time warps might be the more appropriate term" she shouted exasperatedly putting her hands in the air.

"Babe, are you okay?" Lauren's voice questioned. "I thought I heard you speaking… never mind, we've got to pack, Spain awaits us, and Sangria, and you in a bikini, and adult beaches, I totally hate family beaches, all those annoying kids wandering around and throwing sand all over the place. Speaking of annoying kids, I know you tend to get down this time of the year with the Sonia birthday thing, and I totally get it…" the other woman rambled before being suddenly cut off.

"SONIA? SONIA ?WHO THE HELL IS SONIA?!" Arizona shouted, and then it clicked, her voice turning into ice ."If you were somehow trying to make a point regarding my daughter's birthday, the annoying kid as you called her, you could have actually learnt her name ,as in SOFIA ,not SONIA the half dressed hooker from Mortal KOMBAT… but SOFIA ROBBIN SLOAN IT?"

"Sheesh, it was an honest mistake" the dumb folded blonde responded as Tim was choking back fits of laughter, the woman's ignorance was too funny to be ignored. "So, as I was saying…could you not be down about that ?I really want to enjoy our vacation" she stupidly continued.

"So, let me get this straight...you just told me to _stop being sad ,_ so you could enjoy your vacation, after successfully screwing up my daughter's name?" Arizona tried to remain calm, the waves of desire to smack the woman were becoming too hard to contain.

"Yeah, babe .I knew you'd understand" Lauren said placing a loving peck on Arizona's lips, failing to see the tense look on her face.

"GET OUT!JUST…GET THE HELL OUT!" Arizona cracked.

"But babe…"

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!GO TO SPAIN,DRINK YOUR SANGRIA, BURN YOUR ASS INTO CHARCOAL FOR ALL I CARE..JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

"But this was our dreaaam…" the oblivious blonde whined.

"NO! JUST NO! This was MY dream with Callie, My Dream! When I get back you'd better be gone!" Arizona finished their conversation storming out of the apartment.

She couldn't believe how stupid the blonde was, how ignorant, how superficial, how different from her, she hoped, wife. But as things seem to unfold, it was a far shot. As she sank down on the floor of the elevator , she felt the calming presence of her brother and Arizona started to cry…she needed to cry. How did she end up in this situation in the first place?! She never meant for this to happen…did she?

"You need to call Teddy" he finally said. "We have lost quite some time with…Lauren's little display of affection" he chuckled.

"Okay, Chubb-Chubbs" Arizona said knowing her friend would help her out.

"HEY!" Tim smacked her arm, a playful expression finding its way on his face.

"What? You said I couldn't call you "Chubby Timmy"…this was the only viable alternative" Arizona innocently said, whipping her tears off.

"That is worse" he dramatically shouted.

"I know" Arizona smirked pulling out her phone.

"You're evil, KID!" Tim pouted.

"Whatever you say Chubb-Chubbs " she laughed dialing the memorized number of her best friend.

Arizona nervously bit her lip waiting for Teddy to pick up the phone. She was already on her 3rd try and her best friend was currently ignoring her calls.

"Hey, stranger" an out of breath Teddy finally said.

"Hey, Tedds " Arizona exhaled, glad that they were still on talking terms, she couldn't handle another _surprise_

"Sorry for the delay, Henry was a little hungry and he's got some serious lung capacity"

"Henry?" a confused Arizona asked.

"Yes, Henry…my son, your godson. Are you having those memories blanks again?" Teddy worriedly asked.

"I… I'm fine. If I may ask…"

"Henry is currently 2. He is mine and Owen's son ,we got together after that stormy night and…it happened. Arizona…you should really get your head checked out. Derek would be glad to help you…"

"I know, I will…but for now I've got more important things to handle. Firstly, i may sound insane, but I'm so glad you guys finally end up together and that you have a kid together, you deserve happiness, Teds" Arizona whispered, her emotions running high. "I may not have been myself these past months…years" she said slowly counted in her head, gladly that only 3 years had passed ,"but I need to make things right this time"

Teddy couldn't form words, her best friend was back…finally !The 3 years without her had been sad, Arizona had been running on autopilot successfully alienating all of her close friends ,she had been an absent Lauren obsessed woman for too long. Being glad for the change of pace, Teddy frowned thinking about her current situation…it wasn't easy to fix…it wasn't easy at all.

"Where's Callie?" Arizona's words brought back Teddy from her reverie.

"She's here…in LA" she managed to say.

"Wow…with you?" she grinned happily thinking that it was good that Callie had a friend near and that Sophia was well taken care of.

"No…she lives near, with Addison" Teddy carefully answered knowing that Arizona wouldn't like the direction of this conversation if she gave too much details away, truth to be told, she never thought Arizona would recover from her Lauren infatuation, she thought she'd lost her forever…but now, now things were delicate.

"Great! I'm coming there tonight…I need to see them, see you later, Teds" she excitedly shouted.

"WAIT, Arizona, she's WITH Addison…" Teddy tried to say but she suddenly found herself talking to a dead line.

_"Arizona was in for a real treat" _ both Teddy and Tim thought,though beeing 960 miles apart, shaking their heads in unison…things were going to get ugly, and fast.


	9. Chapter 9

**hey guys :) hope you enjoy this chapter! I sure as hell had fun writing it!**

**ps: thanks for the reviews!**

Chapter 9

_"Great! I'm coming there tonight…I need to see them, see you later, Teds" she excitedly shouted._

_"WAIT, Arizona, she's WITH Addison…" Teddy tried to say but she suddenly found herself talking to a dead line._

_"Arizona was in for a real treat" both Teddy and Tim thought shaking their heads in unison…things were going to get ugly, and fast._

Arizona was pacing anxiously in the staircase afraid to return to the apartment, yet excited to grab some clothes and get the hell out of Seattle. Tim had been silent for a couple of minutes, a somber expression finding its place on his smooth face, being lost in thought he didn't hear his sister's question:

"Tim ?!Tim ?!Hey…CHUBBY TIMMY!" the blonde shook her dazed brother.

"WHAT?!"

"Are you ok?" she worriedly asked.

"Yeah…I'm just thinking about something. Did dad tell you about the last talk I had with him before…before I _left _you guys?"

"No, he actually didn't. But that's not important now, YOU are here with me ,and you are going to stay, aren't you?" Arizona hopefully asked, her fears getting the best of her.

The blonde man smiled, sadness painted in his dark blue eyes, he didn't have the heart to tell her sister the truth, the whole truth about his presence in her now broken life. He hoped she could learn from these _experiences_ and maybe, just maybe, if given a second chance, she could be happy.

"I called and told him I was leaving the army, that would have been my last mission, kid" he started slowly.

"Oh…Tim, Dad never…"

"He didn't ask why, but I told him the reason anyway…I wanted a family, to settle down, and I finally had the guts to go after what I wanted all along…"

"Wow, that was a big deal…why didn't I know about this?"

"Well, me and Nick never wanted you to feel left out…we've always tried to protect you, and…"

"Wait…you and Nick were together?! Like together, together?! Now the long afternoons in which you guys played fort in the tree house finally make sense." Arizona chuckled.

"Yeah…about that…sorry" the man lightly blushed.

"So I take it dad didn't react well? That's why he never mentioned it to me? But that's insane, I'm gay, I came out when I was just a teenager. Why wouldn't he accept you?" Arizona rambled.

" I really don't know…I was as shocked as you are and also mad as hell, and then we got the call that there was a situation in the village that we were supposed to protect…"

"And you got killed." The woman simply said.

"Yeah, but do not cry, kid. That's not why I wanted to share this, I just want to make sure that you don't spend your time chasing after the wrong things in life, we don't have unlimited time with the ones we love…just listen to your heart, okay? " Tim said, his voice shaking towards the end.

"Okay" Arizona replied squeezing her brother's hand, vowing that this was a promise she was going to keep…or die trying.

Their little moment was abruptly interrupted by Arizona's blaring phone, Lauren's unmistakably voice rambled:

"Babe, I programmed this alarm to remind you that today you have that phone consultation. I know you missed the last one so you should really call her, she's registered as SOS 3 on your phone's contact list. Call! NOW!"

"What the hell does SOS 3 mean?" a dumb folded Arizona asked herself loudly, oblivious of Tim's knowing look.

Pressing call she waited a few seconds before a familiar voice barked an annoyed :HELLO!

"ERICA HAHN?!" Arizona yelped.

"Yes…I'm glad you found some precious time to call me, dr Robbins. It's your heart after all, not mine" the heart surgeon dryly observed.

"Why the hell am I supposed to call you?" the panicked blonde asked.

"Well, I was going to ask you how things were going, but your question already did. You have been experiencing Adams-Stokes seizures followed by a temporary loss of memory .My guess is that you had one recently? Am I correct?"

"And why are you my doctor? From all the people in this world…how did I end up with you ?I really am not questioning your expertise now, I'm just a little shocked"

"I made a promise to Callie and I fully intend on keeping it. Even if your lying cheating heart doesn't deserve my extensive care, Callie does. I'm just making sure you won't die on us before you completely realize what damage your reckless behavior has done…that and Sophia still considers you her mom." Erica coldly answered.

"I…I am sorry" Arizona automatically said.

"Tell that to your daughter and to Callie, don't waste your breath on me"

"Okay…" the paeds surgeon threw a weird look at her brother "Do you plan to go to LA for Sophia's birthday?"

"I know it's tomorrow But no. Why? Did Callie say something? Wait, are you two on speaking terms again?" Erica's voice suddenly shifted from bitchy formal to hopeful.

"No, no…she didn't" Arizona quickly answered slapping her forehead.

"Are you?" Erica laughed as if it were the funnies thing in the world.

"I…why are you asking? Did Callie…"

"I'm certainly not going to tell you if Callie said something about you. But going there is going to be fun…for me anyways. As your doctor I'd advise you not to go and not to get mad or excited, your condition has some restrictions. But hell, it's going to me memorable…I'll even take a day off to watch the news" Erica fired her words before abruptly hanging up.

"But…what? Hello? Tim, did she just cut me off?" the blonde energetically gesticulated with her arms.

"Yeah" he chuckled " I guess she did" he said, fully knowing what Erica was referring to.

"Do YOU know something about it? She acted kind of funny" Arizona narrowed her eyes.

"I'll let you know kid…when the time comes".

The flight lasted 2 hours and near the end Arizona couldn't wait to get off the plane faster, she had to buy Sophia a birthday present, as she was glad the girl was only turning 6 and ponies and princess dresses were still an option.

After dragging Tim to the gift shops and successfully managing to empty her credit card, she pulled out her phone and dialed her best friend's number, she had to let her now of her arrival and also find out Callie's current address.

"Hey, Teds. I've just landed" she chirped

"Oh, hey…damn, you were fast. You weren't kidding about being excited to come" Teddy whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Arizona whispered back.

"Henry and Sophia are sleeping, and Callie just left…why are YOU whispering?" the other woman lightly laughed

"I… never mind, just a reflex" she rolled her eyes at the stupidity of her actions,"So, Callie just left and Sophia's having a sleepover ?That's just great, I mean that way we can talk with no interruptions. Addison surely can give us a couple of hours of alone time" Arizona rambled.

"I really think you should think things through first, Arizona. Addison is…" she tried before being cut off

"Nonsense, I'm going ,it's good that she's going to be home. Thanks for the heads up, Teds. And please text me Callie's address. See ya !" she rapidly said without waiting to hear her best friend's response.

"Oh, GOD!" Teddy screamed exasperatedly waking both of the kids up. "Callie is going to kill me!" she shouted once more before beginning to text Arizona the address, things were going to be rough on both of them.

Arizona was in a hurry and her slip up on the phone didn't pass unnoticed by her brother, who was currently playing in his head the different possible scenarios of the pending meeting. He was there to support his sister, but Arizona's rather ignorant behavior made him think that she was in for a big surprise after all. The 2 siblings got into a taxi after receiving Teddy's text message, Callie's house was apparently situated in a rather wealthy neighborhood and that secretly pleased Arizona, as she remembered their talk about buying a house with a back yard together, where Sophia would be able to play. The drive lasted a good 30' and after carelessly throwing the driver a 50$ bill, Arizona all but ran to the front door without waiting for change or for her brother, for that matter.

"Kid, wait! You need to know something before going in" he shouted sprinting towards the woman who just had rung the doorbell.

"What?!" she asked turning her back on the door, but before hearing her brother's response a low hungry voice forced her to turn around again.

"Callie, I've got a surprise for you" a beautiful woman dressed only in a red lace lingerie stood in all her glory on the other side of the door.

"ADDISON?! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Arizona saw only red in front of her eyes…both literally and figuratively.

And as fate had planned, Callie's black Range Rover pulled into the driveway successfully hitting the empty dumpsters which were previously neatly arranged in front of the garage,"guess Arizona isn't the only one surprised" Tim thought, a laugh escaping his mouth." Time to rumble..."


	10. Chapter 10

hey :) have a nice Sunday!

ps: summer has ended :(

Chapter 10

_"Kid, wait! You need to know something before going in" he shouted sprinting towards the woman who just had rung the doorbell._

_"What?!" she asked turning her back on the door, but before hearing her brother's response a low hungry voice forced her to turn again._

_"Callie, I've got a surprise for you" a red lace lingerie dressed woman stood in all her glory on the other side of the door._

_"ADDISON?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"_

_And as fate had planned, Callie's black Range Rover pulled into the driveway successfully hitting the empty dumpsters which were previously neatly arranged in front of the garage,"guess Arizona isn't the only one surprised" Tim thought, a laugh escaping his mouth." Time to rumble..."_

Tim saw in slow motion the almost comical scene unfold before his eyes, startled by the sound of Callie's vehicle crash into the dumpsters, Arizona's head quickly turned towards the commotion…but this wasn't the time to assess paint scratches, so she proceeded to redirect her attention to the more pressing situation, that being Addison, Callie's trustworthy friend Addison, dressed skimpily and obviously waiting for a booty call. Without giving it a second thought, and taking advantage that Callie was still struggling to get out of the car, Arizona launched herself at the unsuspecting red head straddling her, firmly planting one hand in the other woman's mane as the other was preparing to strike.

Addison was surprised by the burst of energy the petite blonde was currently displaying and was rendered motionless, a moan escaping her mouth when Arizona's hand started to pull on her hair. Thinking this was absolutely insane, and that the army kid was totally going to whip her ass if she didn't react fast enough, the red head turned her body and grabbed the blonde's ready-to-give-her-a-blue-eye-hand and sunk her teeth in, the feral action earning a loud scream from Arizona, her other hand letting go of the hair she was previously holding.

When Callie finally managed to get in the house she almost laughed at the image of Addison and Arizona circling each other like they were preparing to spare or to fight to death in a Gladiator arena, and if she wasn't so mad at the blonde, her disheveled appearance and her dark angry eyes would make her insanely hot and bothered. Deciding it was time to end this charade, Callie picked up an unsuspecting Arizona and started to carry her towards the nearest room as far as possible from the very pissed of Addison. But things weren't going to be easy, as the red head began to speak:

"Oh…you're not so tough now, are you? You lying, cheating…BLONDE" she spat, not so sure about the last choice of words.

"Suuure, you're the one to talk . You screwed McDreamy, after that McSteamy, then McDreamy again, only to return to McSteamy and now you got your filthy hands on MY WIFE! She's McMINE!" Arizona shouted breaking free from Callie's grasp and managing to finally punch the other woman, the cracking familiar sound of bone on bone being like a breath of fresh air she had been in desperate need of ever since seeing…RED before her eyes.

Both Tim and Callie were shocked by the outburst, yeah Arizona was fierce when it came to protecting the ones she loved, but she wasn't a violent person, she didn't recklessly punch people endangering both the other person's health and also her cutting hand… something had triggered her. Wasting no more time, Callie grasped her wife from the unconscious woman and successfully pulled her into the guestroom, locking the door preventing the bothered woman to have another go. Arizona put up a good fight violently trashing her arms and letting out loud groans of frustration at being held away from the object of her current rage, but Callie wasn't going to take it, the blonde didn't have the right to act this way, she lost it a long time ago, so there were 2 options to stop her:

_" kiss or slap?kiss or slap?"_ Callie mentally pondered, her heart screaming kiss but her..oh hell, her mind screamed the same damn she did the best thing for herself…SMACK and then KISS.

Arizona felt Callie pulling her from Addison, she wasn't going to give up that easily, but fighting your way out of a orthopedic surgeon's arms proved to be a little difficult the second time around. Needless to say,as she found herself locked in a room with her wife currently glaring at her, she continued to scream and kick only to find herself being silenced by two simple gestures.

The first one was a fierce slap, the power of the blow wasn't significant, but what hurt the most was Callie's tear stricken face, her eyes were almost pouring out months of pain and loneliness. The second act was a violent thug forward followed by what Arizona thought to be the most passionate kiss they had ever shared, it was slow, it was hungry…it was perfect, making her see stars as Callie's scent caressed her senses. Arizona was in heaven for the most part of it, thinking that maybe this was the way things were meant to be, they would stray from each other and then reunite, but then she remembered this feeling of urgency, of slow burning passion and quickly acknowledged that this wasn't a "hello" kiss, it was a…"I hate how much I love you" message, it was a gesture of goodbye. Extracting herself from the powerful grasp, she sighed, carefully choosing her words.

"I'm sorry, Calliope"

"For what? Lauren or you coming here and acting like a complete violent idiot?" Callie finally opened her eyes, the reality of the situation dawning on her.

"Lauren's not a problem anymore…"

"But she was, she existed during our marriage…"

"I…I couldn't go to Spain with her…"

"SPAIN?!SPAIN?! You wanted to fulfill that dream with HER?! After years of planning to go there together, you almost went there with that SLUT?!" the brunette's shouts reverberated in the small room.

"And what? You got cold feet and she dumped your sorry ass? Cool, that's so cool, Arizona. And let me guess your logic, now you've returned to your second choice, to your 3rd wheel? Or rather 3rd and 4th wheel to your happiness, that is if we include Sophia. That just fucking PEACHY!"

"CALLIOPE!JUST STOP! YOU AREN'T HEARING ME…YOU THINK YOU KNOW, BUT YOU DON'T! I've made mistakes, I am totally responsible for that, but I can't go on living a lie. You are it for me, you've been that since day one, but I was too stubborn to admit that, to admit that I need you so much, that I would die if I couldn't have you! Lauren was a huge mistake, GOD, I feel like those middle aged balding men who suddenly cheat on their wives and buy red sport cars. But that's exactly what happened! I was lost after the crash, I wasn't myself and I couldn't give you that broken version of Arizona Robbins, I guess I checked out and I only existed, I only truly live when I'm with you and Sophia…please believe that" she pleaded her case.

"I would have melted at those exact words 6 months ago…but I've changed too. Now I'm the one who's checked out. Don't you see? I'm sleeping with Addison for fuck's sake…I'm broken. You made me love you and then you burnt it all into the ground, but you didn't just take away my love for you,oh NO NO, you took all the romantic love I was capable of. Sophia is the most important person in my life, she is the only person I will love until the day I die because she's mine…the rest, George ,Erica, but most of all YOU,are nothing to me…" Callie sobbed her eyes piercing into Arizona's.

"I wish…I wish I had never met you…" Callie said with a sense of finality, hoping these words would crush Arizona's hopes forever. Even though it hurt like hell to say them, even though she was the world's biggest liar right now, she couldn't stop herself, nor could she forget the past months.

Arizona was currently in limbo, her wife's words were cutting deep into her soul, but there was also the dull familiar pain residing in her head, pushing through she managed to say:

"Well, in that case, I wish you had never met me too" and as she finished she felt something rather warm liquid pouring from her nose.

"YOU'RE BLEEDING!" Callie yelled rushing to her, but Arizona was already in a different world, incapable of hearing the feverish "I love you whispers" her wife was croaking, the sickening vertigo provoking yet another blackout. As usual Tim was there once again, holding her tight, a weird smiled plastered on his face :

"I really hoped you'd say that, kid. You're making progress…ready for number 3?"

_Chapter 11- preview_

Arizona woke up to the distinct smell of hospital, her body hurt as if she were the victim of a stampede accident, trying to get up, a searing pain shot through her back, irradiating to her anterior chest wall. She was having trouble breathing and once she calmed down a bit the doctor in her could distinctly hear the ragged murmur of a heart problem…

"What the hell have I got myself into now?!" she screamed, successfully getting up into a more comfortable sitting position, her breathing improving significantly.

"Oh hey, you're up" a ginger intern, whose head had just popped into the room, exclaimed with sickening excitement." I'll go get the cardio surgeon"

Utterly confused, Arizona didn't have the chance to respond, because the next minute, the bubbly girl was gone. Trying to replay her last memories in her head, she failed to notice the arrival of the surgeon and was startled by the words the woman directed towards her:

"Hello, I'm dr. Callie Torres, your heart surgeon. Your fiancée told me your condition had worsened lately and that you've experiencing some seizures"

"I…Fiancée ? You…Callie? I…Arizona" that's all she managed to say, mentally slapping herself for the "classy" response, not before hearing Tim's genuinely amused laughter filling the room, his strategic placement on the window sash made him have a great view on all the things happening…to him apparently they were funny ones. _"Too bad I'm the only one capable of hearing and seeing him…"_ she thought,"_ Maybe that's because I'M BATSHIT CRAZY_!" she continued to berate herself. But a hand placed on her face brought her back as a familiar face came into view.

"Hey ,baby. I'm glad you woke up. I just went to the cafeteria. How's it looking dr. Torres"

"COLLEEN?!MY FIANCEE" Arizona shouted shocked, finally realizing that the "I wish I had never meant you scenario" was actually coming into play.

Callie shot both of the women a strange look, something was definitely up with her patient, which, on a more not so professional note was absolutely gorgeous, blue eyes, cute dimples, long wavy blonde hair, the whole deal…"_okay, snap out of it before you start drooling" _she mentally yelled before speaking again.

"So far, so good, but Colleen, did she hit her head when she experienced the seizure?"

Arizona groaned grabbing a pillow and stuffing her face on it…this was going to be a hell of a challenge, with her luck Callie was probably already married with children, and also very straight, not to mention that Colleen was probably the most caring person in the world. She was going to have to be "the jackass" to get her answers and her happy ending.

"You've got this, kid. Piece of cake" Tim chirped at his sister,being rewarded with yet another groan.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**hey :) thank you for the reviews! things are going to get a little freaky for Arizona so buckle your seatbelts.**

**enjoy!**

_Chapter 11_

Arizona woke up to the distinct smell of hospital, her body hurt as if she were the victim of a stampede accident, trying to get up, a searing pain shot through her back, irradiating into her anterior chest wall. She was having trouble breathing and once she calmed down a bit the doctor in her could distinctly hear the ragged murmur of a heart problem…

"What the hell have I got myself into now?!" she screamed, successfully getting up into a more comfortable sitting position, her breathing improving significantly.

"Oh hey, you're up" a ginger intern, whose head had just popped into the room, exclaimed with sickening excitement." I'll go get the cardio surgeon"

Utterly confused, Arizona didn't have the chance to respond, because the next minute, the bubbly girl was gone. Trying to replay her last memories in her head, she failed to notice the arrival of the surgeon and was startled by the words the woman directed towards her:

"Hello, I'm dr. Callie Torres, your heart surgeon. Your fiancée told me your condition had worsened lately and that you've experiencing some seizures"

"I…Fiancée ? You…Callie? I…Arizona" that's all she managed to say, mentally slapping herself for the "classy" response, not before hearing Tim's genuinely amused laughter filling the room, his strategic placement on the window porch made him have a great view on all the things happening…to him apparently they were funny ones. _"Too bad I'm the only one capable of hearing and seeing…"_ she thought,"_ Maybe that's because I'M BATSHIT CRAZY_!" she continued to berate herself. But a hand placed on her face brought her back as a familiar face came into view.

"Hey ,baby. I'm glad you woke up. I just went to the cafeteria. How's it looking dr. Torres"

"COLEEN?!MY FIANCEE" Arizona shouted shocked, finally realizing that the "I wish I had never meant you scenario" was actually coming into play.

Callie shot both of the women a strange look, something was definitely up with her patient, which, on a more not so professional note was absolutely gorgeous, blue eyes, cute dimples, long wavy blonde hair, the whole deal…"_okay, snap out of it before you start drooling" _she mentally yelled before speaking again.

"So far, so good, but Coleen, did she hit her head when she experienced the seizure?"

Arizona groaned grabbing a pillow and stuffing her face on it…this was going to be a hell of a challenge, with her luck Callie was probably already married with children, and also very straight, not to mention that Colleen was probably the most caring person in the world. She was going to have to be "the jackass" to get her answers and her happy ending.

"No, I don't think she did. Ever since that terrible accident she's been acting very weird" the concerned woman replied.

Arizona's head suddenly shot up, a confused expression appearing on her face.

"Huh? What car accident?"

"Honey, don't you remember?2 years ago you had an accident, I almost lost you. Dr. Torres, she was in really bad shape, she had both of her legs broken, some cracked ribs and internal bleeding. The doctors had to remove her right lung and right kidney in order to save her. But the most frightening thing happened when she refused the amputation of her left leg, she went into septic shock…only God knows how she pulled through" the woman recalled the events.

"Mind if I listen to your heart?" Callie said giving Arizona a shy smile, the woman's eyes making her melt , as a warm feeling engulfed her body every time she looked at her…her presence had a troubling yet calm effect on her, and she was in dire need of feeling something other than rage and disappointment. "erm, Colleen, did something else happen?" she inquired, the confusion in her head regarding Arizona's diagnosis finally being cleared.

"Well, she recovered from her injuries miraculously but even after months on PT she didn't recover her leg function. She was even advised to undergo therapeutic amputation because a prosthesis would give her a superior quality of life. But then these seizures started occurring…and here we are" Colleen finished Arizona's illness history, both Callie and her failing to see Arizona quickly peeking under the blanket in order to see her apparently still present left leg. The curious thing about the situation was that she didn't even notice it was still there, she had felt the same stiffness as if she had been wearing a prosthesis, so I didn't occur to her to check. The sight shocked her, the scarring was pretty bad and it was evident she had lost a lot of muscle mass,it looked worse than she'd picture it so many times before. Trying to bend it, she found the deed almost impossible to do without using her left hand to pull her calf in. Swearing under her breath because the motions were rather painful, she decided it was better to leave the damn thing alone for the time being and tuned in to the ongoing discussion.

"Well, after what you've told me I suspected that the septic shock lead to an bacterial endocarditis and that…"

"The vegetations affected my heart valves, from the sound of it, my aortic and my mitral too…" an apparently bored looking Arizona said, the waves of pain were still firing through her leg, as she struggled to pretend that the pain wasn't affecting her.

"Oh, I didn't know a craniofacial reconstruction surgeon was so up to date with the cardio module" Callie said smiling once again.

"I beg your pardon?" Arizona snapped.

"It's okay honey, I told her…even though you find it hard to operate now, you're still a surgeon" Colleen encouraged kissing her temple. "Go on, dr. Torres" she continued ignoring Arizona's perplexed state of mind.

"Erm, sorry to have brought that up, dr. Robbins, I mean misses Robbins…miss Robbins. "Callie babbled starting to hyperventilate.

"It's okay…I get a little edgy when I'm surprised…I hate surprises, they're hostile and…mean, and they get me to crave doughnuts ,I love doughnuts…can I have a doughnut?" the blonde finally smiled lightly touching Callie's hand, hoping that the crazy rant would earn her some alone time with her.

"I'll go get you one from the cafeteria as soon as the doctor finishes" Colleen offered immediately.

"Ahem…" the cardio doc cleared her throat not understanding the blonde's rant ."Yeah, sure ,a little sugar won't hurt you ,and you were right, both your aortic and mitral valves need to be replaced because they were severely damaged. I'll be truthful, the procedure is highly invasive and there are major risks, but I can assure you that I am very good, and if the surgery is a success, you'll be guaranteed a carefree almost normal life"

"Oh…that's excellent news" Colleen chirped. "I'm going to get you that treat, meanwhile you two can discuss all the technical stuff, I don't speak doctor very well" the woman laughed exiting the reserve.

After her "fiancée" left, Arizona's mind started to race, she wanted to get Callie alone with her, but now she was out of ideas of how she could approach the situation. Deciding it was better to wait a bit more, she excused herself to the bathroom in order to freshen up, announcing Callie she wanted to discus the pros and cons of the different valve alternatives when she got back. By swinging her legs off the bed and placing them on the floor, she triggered another sharp pain in her lower left limb, this time around not being able to control a rather loud yelp escaping her mouth as she began to stumble . But Callie was there to catch her, because she wasn't fooled by Arizona's attempts of hiding the discomfort,she was able to foresee the incident and successfully avoid her patient taking a fall. Even if it was an innocent gesture, the two women were shocked by the instant surge of energy the contact had offered them. It was as if they were struck by lightning…apparently a very welcome sensation to both of them,as they found each other only inches apart.

Being first to recover from her daze, Arizona excused herself again to the bathroom, the deep wanting look the brunette had been giving her a few moments before still engraved in her mind. Making her way to the destination in mind, she found walking to be pure torture, her left leg being nothing more than a shell. Tears began to fill her eyes, both the doctor in her as well as the pacient, having suddenly realized that Callie's decision to cut off her leg ,not only had it saved her life, but it actually gave her a better chance at leading a normal, pain free one. Sobbing, Arizona gripped the edges of the sink to somehow anchor herself, her mind involuntary replaying the horrible things she had said to her wife, the horrible things she had done because she had been angry…just only now realizing how much in the wrong had she been the entire time.

A rather heated exchange of words brought her from the daydreaming she had been experiencing, Callie was angry and talking rather rapidly in an amalgam of English and Spanish; smiling to herself, Arizona was glad that this was one thing that hadn't changed about her wife and that gave her hope that maybe she could pull through this entire ordeal. Involuntarily raising her eyes to the mirror, she was shocked to find different person staring back at her, she had the same hair ,same eyes, even the signature dimples were there, but the other features belonged to someone else…a person whom she had become intimately familiar with. Her head started to hurt as she began to limp back to the room where Callie was starting to sound more and more aggravated.

"What are you doing here?!Yo te lo dije that I needed time to think!"Callie's voice boomed.

"Come on, don't be like that" a familiar voice responded.

"I'm working and you shouldn't be here…" were the last words Callie uttered before Arizona's not so elegant stumble in the room.

"What's happening here?!" a still stunned Arizona asked looking at Callie who was shouting at someone who was situated behind the curtains .

"Erm…I'm sorry" the brunette fired. "_Honey,_this is Arizona Robbins,a craniofacial surgeon and also my charming double valve replacement pacient" Callie said as she motioned towards Arizona ,sarcasm dripping at the first voiced word.

"And Arizona,this is my wife" she said pulling the woman towards her, the curtain no longer hiding the figure.

"Hello,I'm Lauren Boswell" the woman offered her hand, but Arizona couldn't respond, the person who was currently in front of her was a replica of herself, the only things different were the brown eyes,the absence of her dimples and a rather distasteful hairdo,but the rest…IT WAS ALL THE SAME.

Feeling nauseous Arizona steadied herself on the bed, the realization of the situation hitting her like a ton of bricks, she had Lauren's body and vice-versa, the only important things that were still belonging to their respectful owners were their eyes. A strange smothering sensation ran through her body as her vision started to blur, and for the first time since this whole _trip _had begun, she was alone when darkness finally engulfed her, sadly Tim was nowhere to be found.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey :D hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Have a great weekend and thanks for the reviews!**

Chapter 12

"_What's happening here?!" a still stunned Arizona asked looking at Callie who was shouting at someone who was situated behind the curtains ._

_"Erm…I'm sorry" the brunette fired. "Honey, this is Arizona Robbins,a craniofacial surgeon and also my charming double valve replacement patient" Callie said as she motioned towards Arizona ,sarcasm dripping at the first voiced word._

_"And Arizona, this is my wife" she said pulling the woman towards her, the curtain no longer hiding the figure._

_"Hello, I'm Lauren Boswell" the woman offered her hand, but Arizona couldn't respond, the person who was currently in front of her was a replica of herself, the only things different were the brown eyes, the absence of her dimples and a rather distasteful hairdo, but the rest…IT WAS ALL THE SAME._

_Feeling nauseous Arizona steadied herself on the bed, the realization of the situation hitting her like a ton of bricks, she had Lauren's body and vice-versa, the only important things that were still belonging to their respectful owners were their eyes. A strange smothering sensation ran through her body as her vision started to blur, and for the first time since this whole trip had begun, she was alone when darkness finally engulfed her, sadly Tim was nowhere to be found._

Arizona was in pitch black darkness, she couldn't move, she couldn't see but most importantly she couldn't breathe, a heavy pressure was currently nesting on her chest depriving her of the much needed oxygen. "Most likely a panic attack" she rapidly asses her current situation, "that…or a thromboembolism…but there's no characteristic pain so I think I'm good, but there are also cases of painless patients…" she rambled fueling her current situation of unease.

"Arizona…Arizona, open your eyes!" a familiar voice startled her as she felt the sharp pain of a slap on her left cheek.

"Arizona…wake up! Damn it!" the voice became more agitated. "She's not responding…Kepner, did you push the Dopamine? No, not Epinephrine, Dopamine! She's already experienced arrhythmias, no need to cause her one. Good, now keep the paddles close…just in case!"

"Arizona, honey…"Colleen's voice joined Callie's in their attempts of bringing her round.

"Damn…Vfib. She's racing herself into the grave, and I don't know what the hell triggered it, the EKG seemed fine! Kepner, charge to 300…"

"No, no…I'm fine Arizona thought still unable to move, it was as if the whole experience was happening to somebody else. She knew she wasn't fine ,but damn it an electric conversion to sinus rhythm without using sedation would hurt like a…

"CLEAR!" Callie's voice boomed.

"BIIIIITCH!" Arizona shouted bolting into sitting position eyes wide open successfully scaring all the people in the room. "WHY'D YOU DO THAT?!MOTHER OF GOD THAT HURT!FUCK!" she continued to bark.

"Honey, are you ok?" a dumb folded Colleen asked, but Callie was just satisfied with finally taking a deep breath, it had been a close one…she had almost lost her patient, her special patient, so now she found it useless to question her dirty mouth, the woman nearly died…she deserved some liberty.

"HONEEY!I'VE JUST BE FUCKING FRIED LIKE A KENTUCKY CHICKEN!SO,NO…I AM CERTAINLY NOT OKAY!" she sighed exasperatedly finally lying down, her muscles still tingled from the shock and had barely started to relax.

"I…I think I'm gonna go for a walk" Colleen whispered excusing herself.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Maybe you can go to the nurses' station, chat a bit with your friends while I brief Arizona on why I had to "fry her" " Callie chuckled ignoring her patient's dagger shooting looks.

"Suuuper,just suuuper…Colleen still a nurse here" Arizona mumbled for herself.

"Course she is, kid. Did you think it would be that easy?" Tim's voice startled her. "Why'd you try to die on me?" he continued in an amused tone, "It would just have made Callie sad and you'd just miss this experience…oh an probably you'd get a sinister headache upon waking up, but that's all."

"I didn't plan on crashing, Patrick"

"Did you just make a Sponge Bob reference?" Tim asked bewildered.

"Wow…a smart one this is" Arizona replied rubbing her temples.

"Immediately followed by a Star Wars one?" he shook his head feigning anger.

"Yeah…what can I say, I'm on FIRE today, literally" she barked back but immediately froze remembering that Callie was still in the room. Thankfully she was immersed in a rather heated exchange with the ginger intern, Kepner and apparently didn't take notice of the little spat happening right before her eyes.

"Ahem, Hello! Would someone be kind enough to fill me in on what the hell happened?" Arizona began…

"Yup, just a moment…"Callie made a hand gesture to emphasize her point. "And Kepner, she's your responsibility, I want her ALIVE on my OR Table, ALIVE! Get it?"

"Yeeees, Ms. Boswell!"

"MY NAME IS TORRES…IT HAS NEVER BEEN AND IT WILL NEVER BE IT?!"

"Yes, doctor Torres." Kepner answered in a mousey voice trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Good" Callie said and made a waving motion shooing away the rather scared looking intern. "Now, Arizona…how long have you been having hallucinations?" she asked casually picking up the chart.

"WHAT?!" the shocked blonde choked out, while Tim started to laugh wholeheartedly "Oh, this is going to be good, kid. I want to see you get out if this one…although people find psychopaths rather charming, so you might have somethin' going on there…"

"You've been talking…no, scratch that, bickering with someone for approximately 5 minutes. I do have distributive attention, I'm not a man you know" Callie laughed folding her arms on her chest, the simple gesture signaling she was indeed awaiting an answer from the blonde.

"I…I don't have hallucinations" she lied hoping her neck wouldn't get red. "I just speak out loud to process things, it's a lot easier…so sometimes I agree with previous thoughts, sometimes I don't…"

"And when you don't you make references to mentally challenged star fish?" Callie raised one eyebrow trying not to burst out laughing.

"I…HEY !Patrick is just slow…you're mean !"Arizona pouted like a 5 year old, this simple exchange reminded her why she had fallen for the dorky brunette in the first place.

"Oh ,I see, you prefer talking like Yoda…classy" she couldn't contain her laughter anymore as tears began to spill from her eyes.

"Come on, you can't seriously tell me that you didn't like Star Wars!"

"She does ,kid…she's just yanking your chain" Tim chirped in.

"Shut up, CHUBS! Don't you have somewhere else to be ?!"she screamed at her brother who proceeded to vanish in an instant, trying to mask her shock she redirected her attention to Callie who was hysterical by now, "Are you crying from laughing with me?" she proudly asked.

"AT" Callie managed to choke between fits. "Aaaand…you're getting an MRI"

"WHAT?!" Arizona didn't know what to think.

"I said I was laughing AT you, not WITH you" she smirked at the blonde's scowls,

"And that you are getting that MRI. It's a standard procedure before the surgery and I want o make sure your little one on one time with your crazy self doesn't come from an organic suffering" she finished.

"Just admit I'm a cool crazy person and be done with it!" the blonde tried to weasel her wait out.

"Cute, but no. You've been having seizures and I don't know if they come from the lack of oxygenated blood caused by the valve constrictions or if the cause is neurological." She firmly stated. "As for our little scare this afternoon which prompted you being toasted" Arizona scowled once again "your EKG was normal when you came in, your medication is well administered, but something triggered an arrhythmia, at first I thought that you were ischemic, but it seems that was not the case…it might be just a simple panic attack"

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I SAID" Arizona shouted triumphantly punching her right fist in the air.

"Yeah…right !I didn't catch that, maybe because you were UNCONSCIOUS!" Callie responded a little offended ."Besides, with your condition, we have to think about the worst case scenario, not to mention that we didn't have time to ponder on the different scenarios, restarting your heart was a little more pressing" she finished explaining.

"Yeah…sorry about that…"

"Just…try to NOT do that again. And I'm sorry if meeting my…meeting Lauren somehow made you uncomfortable" Callie apologized heading for the door.

"Oh…OH" Arizona remembered the shocking realization that prompted her seizure. "No…it's not a big deal" she said unconvincingly grabbing a mirror from her purse but to afraid to take a look.

"Don't worry, you're still gorgeous…I mean the shock didn't do anything to your skin…I mean…" Callie babbled incoherently a blush appearing on her olive skin.

"It's ok, thank you, Calliope" Arizona gave her smile that reached her eyes, a thing she hadn't been able to do since the crash, this time the brunette's compliment actually meant something to her, it wasn't spoken by an obliged wife who had to make her feel better, they were 2 perfect strangers with no attachments whatsoever, and that felt awesome.

"I…how? How did you know my full name?" Callie asked shocked that she enjoyed immensely the way her name sounded when it came from the blonde's luscious mouth.

"I…I just knew. Aren't we a match?" she smiled again." Callie and Arizona…our parents must have smoked the same thing during the flower power era"

"Yeah…that must be it" Callie said locking eyes with Arizona, their eyes spoke volumes, so only the sound of a throat being cleared snapped both of the women from their daze.

"The blood work is here." Kepner whispered expecting another wave of rage from the attending.

"SUPER" Callie rapidly said in an uncharacteristically high pitched cheery voice, as if she were caught with both of her hands in the cookie jar. "I'll take a look at them and I'll see you later, Arizona"

"Yup, take care, Dr. Torres" she said waiting for Kepner to turn her back to whisper a low "Bye, Calliope" followed by a wink.

_"I'm screwed…"_Callie thought exiting the reserve, a feeling of guilt plaguing her, she had a wife…or at least they still pretended to be married, but Arizona was engaged, she was happy, she couldn't have been flirting, could she? Callie's mind was racing as she entered the first on-call room on hand, not noticing that it was occupied she switched on the light:

"Lauren ?!WHAT THE FUCK?!COLLEEN ?!"


End file.
